Conventionally, a carrier tape has been used for supplying components onto nozzles of a transfer head of a component mounting apparatus. The carrier tape includes a base tape in which a plurality of depressed or embossed component recesses for accommodating components are arranged in a tape longitudinal direction and a top tape which is pasted on the base tape so as to cover the plurality of component recesses having the components accommodated therein. The top tape is removed from the base tape so that the components in the component recesses of the carrier tape can be sucked by the nozzles of the transfer head of the component mounting apparatus.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (JP) 2011-211169A discloses that the removing of the top tape from the base tape is carried out with use of a blade having an edge, for instance. Specifically, the blade is placed on a tape path of the carrier tape that is fed in the tape longitudinal direction. The edge of the blade enters between the base tape and the top tape in the tape longitudinal direction from front end side of the carrier tape that is moving, and the top tape is thereby removed from the base tape. A component supplying apparatus disclosed in Patent document 1 is configured so as to remove from the base tape a portion of the top tape on one side of the tape width direction.
The component supplying apparatus disclosed in JP 2011-211169A is configured to serially and automatically feed a plurality of carrier tapes in a tape feeding direction. Specifically, the plurality of carrier tapes are serially fed such that a front end of a subsequent carrier tape runs after a rear end of a preceding carrier tape.
Also, the component supplying apparatus disclosed in JP 2011-211169A is configured to keep the subsequent carrier tape waiting until a start timing of a feed thereof with the subsequent carrier tape stacked on the preceding carrier tape fed in the tape feeding direction.
Specifically, the preceding carrier tape is fed in the tape feeding direction along a tape guide surface of a tape guiding part and is pressed toward the tape guiding part by a pad positioned above the preceding carrier tape. In other words, the preceding carrier tape is fed in the tape feeding direction and is wedged between the tape guide surface of the tape guiding part and the pad.
On the other hand, the subsequent carrier tape is stacked on the preceding carrier tape fed in the tape feeding direction, a front end thereof contacts with the pad, and thus the subsequent carrier tape waits.
After the rear end of the preceding carrier tape has passed the front end of the subsequent carrier tape (that is, an overlap of tapes is lost), the subsequent carrier tape enter into a gap between the tape guide surface of the tape guiding part and the pad. The gap is resulted from an interposition of the rear end of the preceding carrier tape between the tape guide surface of the tape guiding part and the pad. Consequently, the subsequent carrier tape is fed in the tape feeding direction in the wake of the preceding carrier tape.
However, in the component supplying apparatus disclosed in JP 2011-211169A, a thin carrier tape is likely to fail a wedging thereof between the tape guide surface of the tape guiding part and the pad when there is no carrier tape therebetween. In the case where the preceding carrier tape is a relatively-thin and the subsequent carrier tape is a relatively-thick, the thick subsequent carrier tape is likely to fail a wedging into a narrow gap between the tape guide surface of the tape guiding part and the pad when the rear end of the thin preceding carrier tape lying therebetween. Therefore, it is difficult to reliably serially-feed the plurality of carrier tapes.